I'ma getting started on the next chapta!

But first, allow myself to brush up on whatever went on in chapter eight. Can't be that important, can it?

Hm, hmhmm… okay, that's pretty important.

In fact, I reckon that I really ought continue right from there.

But what I do know is that this is the point where the opening theme changes. Oh, it's still Colours, but it's a little different now.

-}+{-

"R-Rivalz!" Zero shouted as the young man collapsed, unconscious as Kallen and C.C. ran out of the cave behind him.

"Not good." C.C. pointed out. "He appears to know who you are."

"Eh?" Kallen asked her, then her eyes widened as her brain processed what was going on. "Wait… Lelouch!?"

Lelouch just set Rivalz onto the ground and began to bandage the wound with his cloak. "Kallen." He said. "We need ho-oh to fly us to the nearest hospital quickly."

"Huh?" She asked. "Uh, right!" She declared, summoning the phoenix and climbing onto its back.

"I trust that you can drop him off without attracting attention and meet us in the city." Zero told her, handing her the unconscious Rivalz. "C.C. and I will make it down the mountain on foot and meet you there."

'He's dressed in a soldier's uniform.' Lelouch noticed. 'And his mission knife is weeping with blood… did he cut his arm off himself?'

He tore his helmet off and looked Kallen in the eye. "GO!" He shouted.

She didn't need telling twice. She set off at speed as Lelouch replaced his mask and jumped onto his metagross, carrying C.C. along the mountain side, rushing through the forest and down the slope. Creating a secret base with his sandslash when he was almost at the bottom, he entered the shelter and got changed into some casual clothes as sandslash began to burrow a tunnel under the avalanche wall. With the army scrambling above to re-establish chains of command and recover their wounded, there was little risk of them being found.

It took an hour to get out, but soon he and C.C. were in the town undiscovered.

Lelouch led C.C. into a clothes shop that was, amazingly still open (thanks in no small way to geass) and bought her a change of clothes to replace her bloody and tattered dress. She left dressed in a white skirt, black top and a red beret. "Come on." Lelouch told her as he paid the shopkeeper. "We need to deal with Rivalz."

"Most men would compliment a girl on her looks." C.C. pointed out, giving Lelouch a little twirl.

"I might have just caused one of my best friends to hack his own arm off with a knife, then walk along a battle field of a mountain with a bleeding stump, and he certainly knows that I am Zero." He glared at her. "I'm understandably preoccupied."

"Well, whatever." C.C. sighed, linking an arm into Lelouch's, making him flinch somewhat in surprise. She ignored the intensified glare he sent her. "Let's go see him then."

Kallen was waiting in the corridor in a modest dress with her hair brushed down when Lelouch and Zero walked in. "Lelouch…" Kallen said, standing up.

"How is he?" Lelouch asked her.

She stepped forward and rammed her forearm under his chin and slammed him against the wall. "Never mind that." Kallen said, pinning Lelouch's neck back to trap him, a pokeball slipping into her hand from her sleeve- the safari ball containing Gurren. "Why are you Zero?" she demanded, before sending a sideways glare at C.C., holding the pokeball up threateningly. "Don't even think of interfering. This is between him and me."

C.C. twiddled with a lock of her hair, uninterested. "Of course. It's difficult to interrogate someone when you deprive them of oxygen like that though. Are you new to this?"

Kallen gaped in surprise at the green-haired witch, and Lelouch took the opportunity to lower Kallen's arm on his neck. She whirled around at him, but he sidestepped her and raised his hands defensively in front of him. "I'll explain that to you and Rivalz, but for now I'd appreciate it if you could keep my secret." He told her, opening the door to Rivalz's room, where a nurse was tending to him.

"I'm sorry, but Mr. Cardemonde isn't seeing any visitors right now." The nurse told Lelouch.

"I think you'll find that he is taking visitors right now." Lelouch told her. "Lower the anaesthesia so I can speak with him and leave."

"Understood." The nurse bowed, lowering the dosage as Kallen and C.C. walked in and Rivalz began to stir.

Lelouch pulled up a stool and sat next to his friend's bedside as the nurse left, Rivalz turning his weary face to look at Lelouch. "Hey… Zero…" Rivalz laughed weakly.

"So… you really did figure it out…" said Lelouch, half to himself.

"Why the hell would Rivalz know before me!?" Kallen shouted.

"That's what I would like to know." Lelouch replied, putting one of the seats in the room beside his injured friend's bed. "Rivalz, tell me how you figured it out and I'll give you a full explanation."

"Come on man." Rivalz groaned, trying to get up. He slipped back down, the anesthesia making his remaining arm too weak to hold his weight. Lelouch pressed the control for the bed and the upper half inclined forwards, letting Rivalz sit up. He smiled weakly in thanks before continuing. "I've seen you battle more than anyone else. I'd recognise you in a scrap a mile away. And cheers about this!" He laughed, holding up his bandaged stump.

It was barely a shoulder. "What happened Rivalz?" Lelouch asked, using all his resolve not to flinch away from the sight of his friend's missing limb.

"Eh, got my arm caught in the landslide." He shrugged as Kallen flinched, holding her own arm in shame. "It got totally crushed, and I had to use my knife to cut myself out, which the doctors said probably saved my life in more ways than one, since it kept the adrenaline going and stopped me from going too deep into shock. And hey, now I can get automail, so that's kinda cool…"

"I'm sorry." Lelouch apologised. "But what were you-"

"Free badges as you advance through the ranks and you can catch as many wild pokémon you want." Rivalz groaned. "The Britannian army pays pretty well too, but now…"

Both Kallen and Lelouch understood his meaning. His military career was finished. Brittania, no, the world was a place where only strength was respected. It looked down on those with disabilities, like Nunally. Like Rivalz, now. Even if he were to try get a robotic prosthetic limb, the army wouldn't give him a second glance. He'd just be discarded, rejected by society.

Lelouch looked down. "My name is Lelouch Vi Britannia." He admitted. "My mother was Marianne Vi Britannia, and I am the eleventh Prince of Britannia.

The room fell silent. "My mother was murdered by someone in Britannia, and I want to find out who did it, avenge her death, and completely overthrow and destroy the Britannian Empire that took my mother's life and my sister's legs and sight.
"In Shinjuku, I found a gun, and killed a unit of soldiers who wanted to kill all the witnesses." Lelouch continued, using the story he'd prepared on the way there. "I then used that as my chance to guide the rebels there to victory, and then I became Zero."

"I- what?" Kallen managed.

"Wait, wait, wait!" Rivalz protested. "You're a prince!? Okaaay, I think the nurse gave me one too many painkillers…" He blinked in shock, then shared a glance with the equally speechless Kallen.

In unison, they looked straight at Lelouch. "Seriously?!"

"The only other ones who know are Nunnally, Milly, Suzaku and Sayako." Lelouch continued, ignoring their reactions. "Officially, I died during the war. After that, I became Lamperouge."

The redhead and the amputee were too shocked for words. "So, to review, my real name is Lelouch Vi Britannia, I became Zero to avenge my mother by creating my own personal army, the Order of the Black Knights, to overthrow Britannia for the selfish reason of revenge, and to create a better world for my sister to live in. Any question?"

"You're a prince?" Kallen asked in disbelief.

Lelouch stoked his forehead with a groan. "Any sensible questions?"

"Where do I sign up?"

Lelouch's jaw dropped as Rivalz grinned cheerily behind the pain. "I mean, after they strap a robo-arm onto me." Rivalz said. "You're all nuts, but since I hacked my own arm off, I might as well join the club, right?"

"It wasn't your fault." C.C. told Lelouch as Kallen flew them on ho-oh over the cloud line, the bird's aura radiating heat around them. Few flying pokémon could reach that high without freezing either themselves or their trainers, so this let them move with relative stealth.

"The landslide was my plan." Lelouch replied, angry with himself, before taking a deep breath. "I knew people would die, that was rather the point, but even if I knew Rivalz was there…" he sighed. "I probably still would have gone through with it."

"Good."

C.C. and Lelouch both turned to Kallen. "I'm disappointed that Zero turned out to be someone like you, but at least you're as determined as the rest of us." She then turned around and glared. "Although, Ohgi said something interesting earlier."

"What was it?" Lelouch asked.

Kallen turned forward to focus on flying ho-oh. "He said that Britannians see humans as pawns in a giant game of chess, but Zero doesn't." She paraphrased. "He said that if you did think like that, then we wouldn't follow you. Zero's as much a part of this war as the rest of us, and he fights alongside us. That's why we follow him."

'I don't see you as my pawns.'Lelouch thought to himself.'I took you from being aimless pawns and led you through the enemy lines, and you came out as my knights, my bishops, my rooks and my queens. And I am the king, right there on the board beside you…'

He kept that thought within his own head, however. "While I do enjoy a game of chess, I'm a pokémon trainer." Lelouch said instead. "Treat your pokémon with respect, and they respect you in return. Prove yourself as worthy of their power, and they fight for you. Take ho-oh for example." He suggested, stroking a red feather. "You are the only one this pokémon will accept, because it knows that you are deserving of its power and treat it with respect."

"So you see us as your pokémon then?" Kallen asked in disgust.

"I see you as my allies, so yes, I suppose I would." Lelouch said. "As a trainer, you should know that's a good thing."

"I suppose…" Kallen sighed. "So, what was all that about 'life being better if you did nothing at all' crap?"

"A ruse to throw off your suspicions about me." Lelouch admitted. "It worked for a time, did it not?"

Kallen sighed, focusing her attention on flying.

Lelouch opened the door to the Student Council room the next afternoon. "If you're so worried about it, why not ask him yourself?" Milly asked Shirley before turning to Lelouch. "What do you think?"

"Eh?" Shirley gasped, before turning to Lelouch. "L-Lulu! I thought you were staying home today!?"

"Nunnally had a fever and Sayako was out for the morning." Lelouch explained, walking over to the table.

"Oh, I-I see…" Shirley laughed with embarrassment. "Is Nunnally alright now?"

"I suppose so…" Lelouch shrugged, before turning to Milly. "Where's Rivalz?"

"Dunno." Milly shrugged. "I haven't seen him since Friday. ANYWAY!" She pointed at a pile of documents. "Sort those into their respective grade groups, if you will!"

"Sure, sure…" Lelouch sighed, scooping the papers up in his arms, annoyed that he didn't have an excuse to go visit Rivalz yet. "Ever the slave driver, aren't you?"

Milly smiled. "I'm so glad to have such a capable underling."

"Underling?" Lelouch asked as he walked out of the office. "Well, I suppose I am."

"LULU!"

Lelouch turned to see Shirley running at him desperately. "What is it?" Lelouch asked, hoping like hell it was news on Rivalz.

"I-is there a letter for me mixed up in that paperwork?" Shirley asked, stopping.

Lelouch's face fell slightly, but he recovered before Shirley noticed. "Let's see…" He muttered, fingering through the papers. "Ah, here it is." He said triumphantly, taking the envelope and handing it to her.

She didn't take it. "Hm? What's the matter?" He asked her.

Shirley didn't say a word for a moment, before standing bolt-upright. "Lulu!"

"Yes!" Lelouch reported.

"M-My father sent me tickets to tomorrow night's Master Class Pokémon Contest!" Shirley told him awkwardly, pulling the tickets out of the envelope.

"Eh?"

"My dad has to live apart from us, for his work, but he always sends me stuff like this to cheer me up!" Shirley told Lelouch awkwardly. "So, do you…"

She forced the tickets onto his chest. "Don't be late!!" She shouted before turning and running back to the student council office to bury her head in a bucket of water.

Lelouch was still thinking about it during the Black Knights meeting that evening, only to be brought back to reality when Ohgi handed him a folded up piece of paper. "What's this?" Zero asked, taking the paper.

"A love letter." Ohgi sighed.

"Oh? From you?"Lelouch asked, an unseen smirk under his mask.

Tamaki burst out laughing. "Honestly!" He shouted. "Who says this guy doesn't have a sense of humour?!"

"Honestly, Tamaki, it's not that funny..." Complained an annoyed Kallen, glancing at Lelouch momentarily.

"It's a letter form the Team Rocket head office." Ohgi explained. "They say that they want to meet you in person."

"Is that such a big deal?" Zero pondered aloud.

"Big deal?" Kallen asked. "It's Team Rocket itself!"

"If they like what they see, they're sure to support us financially." Ohgi explained. "Our money problems will be-"

"Money?" Zero asked, throwing Ohgi off. "I was under the impression that we had plenty, so long as we stuck to the budget."

"Well…" Ohgi sighed, glancing at Tamaki.

"I-it's not my fault!" Tamaki shouted, somewhat too quickly for his own good. "We're a huge organisation! More money means more expenses!"

"Expenses like the expensive dinners you treated the new recruits to, mister bigshot?" Kallen taunted with a grin.

"Hey." Tamaki threatened.

"I know where you go, too." Kallen continued, leaning closer to him.

"Y-you do?" He asked fearfully, cowering from the red-haired trainer's wrath.

Lelouch sighed. "Anyway, let's have Ohgi deal with our finances from now on."

"Hey, I've always handled the money!" Tamaki shouted, getting to his feet. "Don't you think-"

"If you want me to trust you, you must show me that you're trustworthy." Zero told him. "Remember what I went through to prove myself to you?"

"Tch." Tamaki grunted, falling back into his seat with folded arms. "You won't even show your comrades your face." He glared at his leader. "How about it!?"

"Hey, hold on." Ohgi intervened, everyone in the room looking at them.

"It doesn't matter who Zero really is." Kallen stated, standing to her feet. "He's proven himself with his victory over Cornelia, didn't he? Without him, we wouldn't have a chance of beating Brittania! What more can you possibly ask!?"

"It is a fair question, admittedly." Zero stated.

Everyone turned to Zero in shock, especially Kallen.

"The reason I do not show my face is because if I do, you will question my motives because of who I am. I don't blame you." He stated, taking in the confusion of everyone in the room. "I wouldn't trust me as your leader in your position either."

"However. You trust Zero as your leader because you do not know who I am behind this mask." Zero continued. "There will come a time when my true face will no longer be an issue, and on that day, I will tell you who and what I really am." Lelouch looked around the room. "That is a promise, so until then, please, trust in Zero."

'That was good.' Lelouch smirked to himself, seeing the faces of the Black Knights filled with resolve. 'That was really, really good-'

"You're a Britannian, aren't you?"

Lelouch turned to Tamaki. "Team Rocket was founded by an Italian." He pointed out. "So like I said; my identity is none of your concern as of now."

'I've managed to narrow Team Rocket's current leader down to ten possible candidates, if Giovanni hasn't returned from hiding.' Lelouch pondered to himself as he browsed through the faces on his computer. 'The rest is completely up to chance… I'll have to improvise this one.'

There was a knock on the door. "Who is it?" Lelouch asked in a deep voice as he reached for his mask.

"It me." Kallen said. "Listen, I'm sorry for Tamaki's behaviour earlier…"

"Kallen." Lelouch said in his normal voice. "Before… did you want to see my face yourself?"

She hesitated, before answering "No, I apologise."

Lelouch looked into Nunnally's room when he returned that night. "Brother?" She asked, sitting up in her bed.

Lelouch walked in with a smile. "Looks like your fever's gone down at least." He noted happily.

"It seems I was just moping around." Nunnally smiled.

"Moping?" Lelouch asked.

"It feels like we've grown apart lately, Lelouch." She sighed, lying back down.

Lelouch gasped as Nunnally stuck her tongue out. "And I guess my illness just reflected that…" She said, turning to face her brother.

Lelouch knelt down and grasped her hand. "I swear, I will never change." He promised her. "No matter what happens, I will always be by your side, Nunnally."

"Then, can I ask you a favour?" She asked him. "Would you just hold my hand a little longer? I feel like I'll have that terrible dream again if I fall asleep alone."

Lelouch tightened his grip as an unspoken promise to stay. He remembered the Hypnotherapy his sister had been through.

Drowsee and hypno were skilled at isolating and eating dreams, and though they disliked the take of nightmares, they could be trained to devour them regardless.

Except for Nunnally's nightmare. Her nightmare made the pokémon throw up.

Lelouch didn't blame them.

"Do you really have a favour to ask of me?" C.C. asked Lelouch the next morning in her new white dress.

"Yes." Lelouch nodded. "I'd like to take advantage of that hint you gave me. No matter what Team Rocket's intentions might be, I want them on our side."

"Is that what you want?" C.C. asked. "If it's necessary for your continued life, I could lend you a hand."

"Indeed it is." Lelouch told her, moving closer to the witch. "C.C., I need your help."

Her face softened momentarily. "Very well. Oh, and you forgot this." She added, handing him the tickets Shirley had given him.

Lelouch snatched them from her. "I didn't forget it." He snapped. "I don't know when I'll be back tonight, so I was going to call her and cancel."

"You should keep your appointments." C.C. suggested, just as Lelouch's pokénav rang.

"It's Shirley." He said, putting it to his ear. "Good timing, I was about to call you."

_\_ "Um, hey, Lulu, about tonight… I might be late." _\_ Shirley told him. _\_ "I'm sure it won't be too long though." _\_

"Is everything alright?" Lelouch asked with concern.

_\_ "Yeah, I'll be there, I promise." _\_ Shirley told him. _\_ "My dad's in hospital, so I'm going to Narita to see him." _\_

"Narita?" Lelouch asked, then it clicked. "Was he caught in that landslide!?"

_\_ "Kinda, but he's okay." _\_ Shirley replied. _\_ "Some rubble broke his leg, so I'm going to see him. The president's with me too." _\_ she added. _\_ "Apparently Rivalz joined the army and got hurt." _\_

'Finally, no more playing dumb.' "Rivalz?" Lelouch asked. "What the hell!?"

_\_ "Don't worry, he's going to get more than an earful." _\_ Shirley laughed, clearly unaware of the extent of Rivalz's injuries. _\_ "But, yeah, we'll be late back, so…" _\_

"It's fine." Lelouch told her. "Something came up so I was afraid I might've had to cancel, but if you're going to be late too then we can catch the second half of the contests together."

_\_ "Eh?" _\_ Shirley shouted as a train pulled up. _\_ "Um, gotta go, later!" _\_

Lelouch hung up, then turned to C.C. "So, here's what I need you to do." He told her.

Several hours later, a car drove through the fog to Zero, who was standing on the mountainside alone. "My boss told me to pick up the rest of your leadership as well…" The driver said awkwardly.

"They're keeping watch, just in case." Zero told the man. "They'll meet up with us shortly. But first…"

The slot in his mask opened up to reveal the Geass.

The figure behind the curtain in the room lectured Zero and the Black Knights while Lelouch hung from the ceiling. He couldn't hear what they were saying, but from their actions, he could tell that they were asking for Zero to remove his mask.

Then came the behemoths. Regirock, regice, registeel and suicune all circled around Zero. 'So they do have multiple legendaries…' Lelouch thought. 'Someone somewhere has entei, it's the only way they could have caught ho-oh.'

Kallen ran to shield Zero, shouting something that still wasn't loud enough for Lelouch to hear properly.

Then Ohgi stepped forward to Zero. He seemed to be uneasy about it, but he reached out to remove Zero's mask.

Zero didn't resist.

Partly because it was C.C. dressed up as Zero.

Kallen started to flip out; demanding to know what the hell was going on.

Then someone ordered the legendaries to attack.

That was Lelouch's cue.

Lightning cracked and Lelouch burst from the ceiling, landing onto raikou. He was dressed in the Rocket Grunt uniform, cap pulled deep over his face, so only his jaw and his black hair was visible. Lightning arced from the beast's body to strike the surprised legendaries, paralyzing them and the grunts around them before the beasts or their trainers had a chance to react. "Your defences are flaccid, your methods and mindsets are hopelessly obsolete." He grinned and stepped off the tiger's back, walking towards the curtain. "That is why you can never win." He taunted.

He stepped forward, raikou walking closely alongside him. "Giovanni Laguada." Lelouch said, approaching the guarded curtain without fear. "The CEO of the powerful Devon corporation, one of the largest distributors of moonstone in the country, and previously the leader of the formidable Viridian Gym, yet you also controlled Team Rocket from the shadows after abandoning the Kururugi administration after the unfortunate death of the prime minister." He grinned. "You triple crosser. How petty."

"How dare you question the chairman's motives!" one guard shouted, reaching for his pokéball.

"STOP!" Giovanni ordered. The guards around him froze at the order, and behind the curtain Giovanni stared at Lelouch's silhouette. "So, Zero, is this audacious display of force meant to be a distraction from your true motives? You have a reason to fight, that much is clear, but it isn't patriotism."

"How perceptive. It's just as you suspected." Lelouch replied, his smirk widening. "I am, in fact, not Japanese."

"Why do you fight then, if not for your race?" Giovanni asked. "What is your goal?"

"To destroy Britannia." Lelouch said, standing before the curtain.

"Do you honestly believe you can do that?" Giovanni asked.

"I can, because I must." Lelouch told him, squatting down and lifting his cap. "I'm glad that you are my counterpart, old friend."

"You!?" Giovanni gasped, then lowered his voice. "I remember… you were brought into my home eight years ago as a political hostage…"

"I must thank you for taking care of me back then." Lelouch whispered, stepping through the curtain.

"Had the representative been someone other than myself, would you have taken him hostage?" Giovanni asked him.

"Of course not." Lelouch said. "I could only have asked his pardon."

Giovanni grinned. "So the eggs I laid eight years ago have finally hatched." He said, making Lelouch ponder this odd metaphor as Giovanni laughed.

"EVERYONE!" the Italian shouted. "This man is without a doubt an enemy of Britannia!" He declared. "I understand why he refuses to show you his face, but this I assure you; have Zero lead, and we shall cover your tracks, help you find a base of operations and finance your endeavors."

"Thank you!" Ohgi shouted as C.C. handed Lelouch the mask of Zero through the curtain.

"Yes, thank you Giovanni Laguada." Zero stated, walking out through the curtain as C.C. slung his cape over his shoulders. "I am most grateful."

"Will you embark of this path of blood?" Giovanni asked him, poking his head through the curtain with a vicious grin on his face. "Will you walk down this path of carnage!?"

"Gladly, if that is indeed my destiny."

Lelouch made it back to meet Shirley, walking through the evening gloom as the rain pounded down on him. As he looked for her, he couldn't keep his mind off his success only a few hours before. 'She might've just gone in anyway without me.' Lelouch thought to himself. 'Anyway, this is just the beginning. The Order of the Black Knights is finally becoming the organisation I envisioned.'

Then he saw Shirley, standing sadly in the rain, getting soaked.

Lelouch ran up to her. "Um… sorry I'm late…" He apologised, holding his umbrella out to shield her from the pounding rain. "I was sure you'd already left…"

"…" Shirley didn't acknowledge his presence, and Lelouch frowned, realizing something was very wrong with the usually upbeat girl.

"More importantly, is there anywhere we can shelter from the rain?" Lelouch asked, flailing for something to say.

"Say, Lulu…" Shirley asked Lelouch weakly. "Zero's supposed to be a friend to the weak, isn't he?" She asked.

"Huh?" Lelouch asked with surprised. "Uh, yeah, I think so. That's what he said, anyways."

"Then… why will my dad never recognise me again..?"

"H-huh!?" Lelouch gasped. 'What does she-?'

"My dad was so kind…" Shirley cried, tears flowing from her eyes. "He never laid a hand on me in anger. He never did anything bad!"

"But the rocks…" Shirley sobbed. "Bashed his skull… he's alive… but… but…" Shirley fell forward into Lelouch's chest, shaking uncontrollably. "HE DOESN'T EVEN RECOGNISE ME ANYMORE!! I DON'T EXIST TO HIM ANYMORE!!!" She screamed.

"Why…" She begged Lelouch. "Why my dad… why… did he take my dad… please… Lulu…" She begged, looking up at him, her eyes lost and filled with grief. "Help me…"

The umbrella fell forgotten onto the street, and the rain continued to pound down on him.

Then she kissed him.

-}+{-

Am I a nasty person? I don't think I'm a nasty person.

I didn't want to kill Shirley's dad, since Shirley's breakdown as down perfectly in the anime, but then again, it wouldn't be the first time I've altered a disaster like this in a fanfiction and pulled it off, am I right?

But yeah, what I did to Shirley's dad isn't much better. Brain damage like that…

You all thought for a second that Shirley was going to get away without getting mind-raped by Mao. She might not, I mean, this is where things really start to change.

Bring on the Maoster.